Football Betting Preview

Pittsburgh Panthers (5-2), +4.5, 49.5 O/U at Notre Dame Fighting Irish (5-2)
South Bend, I.A., 2:30PM Eastern, Saturday
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EASY DEPOSIT OPTIONS

The Pittsburgh Panthers travel to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish this Saturday. Both teams stand at a season’s mark of 5-2 and are eager to improve. Pittsburgh has not been beaten on the road this year while the Irish have not been beaten at home. Who will falter this weekend?

Pittsburgh comes in after a tough loss at home to Rutgers where they were pounded 54-34. The Panthers had reached the #17 ranking in the nation prior to that game and now are out of the Top 25. Pitt has been fairly good on both sides of the ball this year. The Panthers are averaging 395 yards per game resulting in nearly 29 points per contest while the defense has held opponents to 309 yards per game and 26 points per game.

Notre Dame comes into the game after beating up on a winless Washington team 33-7. The Irish have not been beaten in a game this year in where they have been the favorites nor have they lost a game ATS as the favorites. The Fighting Irish have moved the ball fairly well this year through the air averaging 262 yards per game passing placing them in the top 20 in passing yards per game. The rushing attack has underachieved but they still have racked up 385 yards per game this season along with 27 points per contest.

Betus.com has this out of conference showdown listed favoring Notre Dame by 4.5 points. Early bettors have overwhelmingly favored the Irish against the spread by nearly 90%. As result of that overwhelming action the line has slowly been moving all week favoring the Irish. The over/under total has been set at 49.5 points and the public has been pretty indecisive in who they like in the over/under category. Moneyline numbers have Pittsburgh at +165 while Notre Dame is listed at -200.

Notre Dame has been led by sophomore QB Jimmy Clausen. Clausen was one of the most targeted recruits in the nation out of high school. After a year of learning, Clausen has started every game and thrown for 260 yards per game racking up 1812 yards through the air this season. Clausen has completed 60% of his passes, along with 15 TDs, and a quarterback rating of 136.49. The one down side to Clausen’s performance this year is he has been responsible for 9 interceptions this season, a number that needs to come down.

Two other playmakers for the Fighting Irish have been WRs Golden Tate and Michael Floyd. Both Tate and Floyd have each caught 31 receptions a piece for over 500 yards. Tate has averaged 18.2 yards per catch while Floyd is responsible for 17.4 yards per catch. The WR duos is accountable for 9 TDs this season and have the ability to really challenge an opposing team’s secondary.

Pittsburgh has their own playmaker in sophomore tailback LeSean McCoy. McCoy has put up some outstanding numbers this season. McCoy has racked up 835 yards this season, averaging 5.2 yards per carry, along with 14 touchdowns. McCoy has been getting more touches as the season progresses and he has been playing better and better as a result. Over the last 4 games, McCoy has averaged almost 150 yards per game. The Panthers will look to hand the ball off to McCoy early and often this Saturday.

Pitt QB Bill Stull has thrown for 1562 yards this season completing 60% of his passes. Stull has had limited passing opportunities since the Panthers have had so much success on the ground this season. However in recent weeks along with the emergence of LeSean McCoy, Stull numbers have improved as well. Pitt has been able to run the ball so effectively that it has really opened up their passing game. Last week Stull went 16-22 for 279 yards. Over the last 3 weeks, Stull has averaged 254 yards per game through the air. This is good news for Pitt giving opposing defenses extra worry while the Panther offense is on the field.

Some betting numbers to be aware of…
The Fighting Irish are 5-1 ATS since the season opener and 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games at home. The total has gone over in 4 of their last 6 games. Pitt is only 2-5 ATS this season but they are 4-1 ATS on the road. The total has gone on the under in 9 of their last 13 games. Notre Dame is 8-2 ATS in their last 10 contest against Pittsburgh and also 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games against Pitt at home.

Predictem Pick:
I’m going against what most are expecting and siding with the emerging Pitt offense. I think they have a good shot to win this game and I will take the Panthers with a few extra points. Pitt +4.5